


the mind knows

by blueberrytea



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Canon scenes, M/M, Visions, slightly force sensitive!hux, the angst is strong with this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueberrytea/pseuds/blueberrytea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's someone saying Kylo's name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> ahh I should prolly write something longer than this  
> but for now I'm sticking to little one-shot things  
> fight me  
> (jk I love you all ( ˘ ³˘)♥ )
> 
> UPDATE: woot woot! I did another chapter...you all have no idea how fun it is to write these two!

_Ren._

Kylo opens his eyes. The room is dark, and he’s lying on his back, trying to sleep. Sleep isn’t coming.

He’d been awake for nearly twenty-four hours when Phasma had started insisting that he rest. He’d been at thirty-six when Hux had threatened to lock him in his quarters. It finally took direct orders from Snoke to get him to lay down, but rest hasn’t been forthcoming. His mind keeps emitting sparks.

_Ren._

Kylo sits upright. There’s no one in the room to be saying his name, no matter how strong the word sounds. It must be...

Kylo groans inwardly. More and more frequently, non-uttered words whisper themselves in his ears. It's embarrassing; this phenomenon is something he'd grown out of long ago--a problem dealt with in much earlier days. He supposes his walls are slipping. Maybe from lack of sleep. Nothing like the start of another vicious cycle.

 _Ren._  

Crystalline chills blossom in Kylo’s chest. This is different. This is no everyday thought. It carries a great weight.

The doorway beckons to him, urging him to look for the source of this power. Could it be Snoke calling to him, wanting to discuss something? No, he’d been the one to send Kylo to this hell of stolen sleep. Surely not.

Kylo sighs frustratedly and pulls at tangled curls. He swings around and plants his feet on the floor, decisively standing (although he has to brace himself against the wall as dizziness claims him for a moment) and padding to the door to open it.

_Ren._

It’s louder than a murmur, now, but only slightly. It’s seems to originate from the right, pulling him in that direction down the narrow hallway.

_Ren._

There’s no voice to the word, just breath and a tug in Kylo’s gut. It’s a desperate sound, one that might escape from the lips of a dying man. Kylo swallows second-hand fear.

_Ren. Ren._

Kylo runs both hands down the walls of the darkened hall, blue light sizzling from overhead.

_Ren. Ren. Ren._

He starts to sweat, the empathetic feeling of danger overcoming him. He looks over his shoulder, but there’s no one there.

_Ren. REN._

The hoarse voice chants on, and it’s almost recognizable. Kylo wants to recognize it, he’s inches away from a name--but, like the sleep he’s been chasing, the name evades him.

_REN._

He stops outside of Hux’s quarters.

An unbearable heat seems to scald him through the door, and the urge to run roars at him, falls at his feet and begs. But he doesn’t. Instead, he opens the door.

Hux is tangled in his sheets, eyes squeezed shut, twitching violently in rumpled blankets. The muscles in his jaw jump erratically, his ginger hair is out of place, and a sheen of sweat covers all of him--identical to the one clinging to Kylo’s skin.

Kylo’s name dances in his own ears, in his chest, in all of his deep, dark places. It’s chased from Hux’s flushed lips as he claws at the bed.

 _Hux,_ Kylo thinks, and the man’s eyes snap open.

He gulps in air, eyes wide, and clutches at his chest. Fear is plain on every part of him. Kylo forgets, for a moment, how to breathe.

Hux’s gaze lands on Kylo, still standing in his doorway. It rests there for few beats as he props himself up on his elbows. Neither man dares to move.

“What are you doing?” Hux rasps into the silence. Kylo swallows, wonders how to continue.

“I...I heard...” He contemplates the various outcomes of the situation. He could tell some lie about sleepwalking or the like and go back to chasing dreams, or he could tell Hux that his mind had been reaching out to Kylo in his sleep.

A fierce, inexplicable anger boils up in him, and suddenly he's wildly indignant. This is Hux’s vulnerability, not his. He shouldn’t have to hide.

“I heard my name,” he says, finally. Hux’s stare pierces him through the dark. “I heard someone calling to me.” Kylo sneers slightly. “I wonder who it was.”

He can hear Hux’s breaths grow closer together, and the man’s conscious effort to slow them down.

“I wonder,” Hux replies acidly, and forces himself in a sitting position. He rises to his feet and their eye contact sets off sparks in the gloom.

 _You were dying,_ the voice in Kylo’s head tells him. And, if he looks closely, so do the lines on Hux’s face. Before he can think, he’s kissing him.

It’s teeth and it’s breath and it’s Hux’s sweaty fingers tearing at the back of Kylo’s undershirt, working up his back and twisting into his hair. It’s magnificent. Kylo’s hands sneak along Hux's pale skin, leaving long, red lines with his nails. And in his head is _Ren._

_Ren_

_Ren_

_Ren_

_Re--_

Hux grabs the front of Kylo’s shirt and pushes him back toward the door.

“Go,” he growls. Kylo tries to meet his eyes, but they’re fixed on the floor.

“Hux--”

“I said, _go!_ ” Kylo stumbles backward as Hux shoves him again. He wishes desperately for another kiss, but he knows better than to test the man’s patience.

Kylo's face hardens.

He straightens his shirt.

And he goes.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

Kylo is still roiling with anger as he walks next to Hux along a narrow bridge. FN-2187’s betrayal is fresh in his mind, the inconvenience of the situation strengthening his frustration with every mention in passing thought.

He’s angry at Hux, of course, for letting even the idea of treason trickle into the head of one of his own. But he’s angry with himself as well, because he’d sensed something off in Tuanul when a storm trooper looked him dead in the face as if it were some almighty confrontation. Through the contact, he could feel the fear and defiance rolling off of the soldier. He just didn’t know it would lead to _this._

“Supreme Leader Snoke was explicit,” Hux is saying. “Capture the droid if we can, but destroy it if we must.”

Kylo clenches his jaw, making his mask squeeze the sides of his face uncomfortably.

“How capable are your soldiers, General?” Kylo’s tongue acts before he can order it not to.

“I won’t have you question my methods,” Hux replies icily. Tense bitterness still hangs in the air, leftover from the night before. Hux has been particularly sharp with him since they returned to their work, furthering Kylo’s hot vexation and discomfort. A wave of agitation sweeps through him now as he spits his response.

“They’re obviously skilled at committing high treason.” With a regretfully invisible smirk, he adds, “perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army.” Hux’s face reddens.

“My men are exceptionally trained--” He hisses. He’s so close that Kylo could count the freckles on his skin. “Programmed from birth--”

“Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid. Unharmed.”

“Careful, Ren. That your “personal interests” not interfere with orders from Leader Snoke.”

“I want that map. For your sake, I suggest you get it.” Hux narrows his eyes. They’ve stopped moving and are standing on the far end on the bridge, away from the noise of orders being carried out. They’re face to face, and Kylo is suddenly confronted with a pull towards Hux more powerful than any he’s ever felt to the Light side. He’s keeping all the muscles in his body tightly coiled to prevent repeating the events of the previous night. He hopes his restraint will last.

Hux appears just as rigid, a slight twitch in his cheek drawing Kylo’s eyes over all sorts of clandestine places (the hollow under his full lower lip, the white-orange of his eyelashes complementing the green and blue and yellow in his eyes). He wants all of those places. He wants them to be his. Only his.

Kylo marvels at the rush of feelings in him nonexistent until only early this morning.

He makes a decision.

He takes Hux roughly by the arm and leads him through a door and into a small room off a large hallway. He takes off his mask.

“We need to stop this,” he says, after gathering up the courage.

“If you mean decrease the amount of time spent alone together then I highly agree.”

“General,” Kylo starts, but doesn’t know how to finish.

“Ren, what is the meaning of this? I have an agenda to attend to.”

“What were you dreaming of?” He catches Hux off guard, this he’s sure of. But Hux regains composure startlingly fast.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

The magnet is back in Kylo’s chest, tugging him toward the other man. He doesn’t allow his self control to take over this time, and finds himself creeping forward. Hux backs away.

“I’m referring to last night,” Kylo counters. He’s backing Hux into a wall. “When your calling my name in your sleep...” He’s got the General against the cool metal and still aches to get closer. “...drew me to your quarters.”

“I did no such thing!” Hux pushes him away frantically, losing one shoulder of the greatcoat draped over his frame.

“Maybe not verbally. You spoke to me through the Force.”

“You’re fabricating things now. This is childish and rash, Ren. I suggest you stop.”

“What were you dreaming of, General?” Kylo looks him straight in the eyes.

No matter how much he wished to, he wouldn’t dare use a mind trick on Hux. But the words escape his mouth laden with power, and an answer spills from Hux’s lips.

“I dreamt of your defeat by a girl wielding Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber.” Hux skids from undisguised horror to fury in less than three seconds. “How _dare_ you!?” He buries his fists in Kylo’s collar and slams him against the opposite wall. “How dare you use your powers on me!?”

Kylo wrestles his words out, a tendril of fear whipping across his chest.

“I had no purpose of using them on you, I swear it!” His voice takes on a note of urgency, and he fights to drive it away. “I would never set out to manipulate you! You must believe me!” Hux pushes him harder into the wall. Kylo loses control. “When have I ever lied to you, Hux?”

The grip on his collar loosens. Hux’s stare is charged with hostility, but he backs off slightly. He’s moving backward, toward the door, making to leave--but just when he reaches the closed door his face contorts as he pulls back a balled fist and punches Kylo hard on his left cheekbone.

Kylo bends sideways in shocked silence, but then the tight hold on his collar returns and so do desperate, feverish lips on his own.

It takes Kylo all of one point five seconds to realize that Hux is kissing him (kissing _him_ ) and when he does he takes full action. Discards Hux’s hat (his greatcoat is already lying on the floor) and urges him to the wall opposite their current position.

Kylo runs his hands down Hux’s thighs and hooks them under his knees, lifting Hux’s legs and wrapping them around his own torso. He presses Hux firmly against the cool metal, spilling messy kisses down Hux’s throat. The positively lewd sounds meeting his touch implore him to grind urgently into the shaking heat that he has pinned under him, eliciting a new slew of profane noises in response.

But feet find the ground soon enough and, as Kylo can presume, sense finds the mind. Hux is shoving him again, so hard and violent that he almost hits the other side of the room.

Hux looks like an animal, bent over, heavy breath raggedly assaulting the air. He speaks like one as well when he says the words Kylo can’t bear to hear.

“Keep your distance, Kylo Ren.”

Hux grabs his jacket and hat from the floor, then storms from the small, barely-lit room.

Kylo is consumed ultimately by hate and desire, and left unable to understand their coexistence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always ends with someone leaving, don't it?  
> :)
> 
> (hey, look at me! I added a canon scene! Yeyyy!!)  
> (and yeah I know they're in space and they don't have nights but just work with me okay)


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I didn’t really like this chapter. But it’s something, right? And I swear this isn’t just going to be the same thing over and over again. They’ll figure their shit out soon. I promise.

“Ren.”

For a moment Kylo thinks he’s imagining things. And then he wonders if Hux is dreaming of him again. But, he realizes, the sound is coming from behind where he stands (in front of a large window, trying to distract himself from an oncoming headache by looking at the stars). He turns to face the source of the sound, expecting what he sees but still being taken by dizzy surprise.

“General,” he replies to the ginger-haired man opposite him. He watches as Hux leisurely makes his way over to the window, looking out into the star-scattered blackness of space. They stand in easy silence for a few moments before Kylo speaks up.

“That was…clever. Mentioning the weapon to Leader Snoke. I believe we managed to evade disaster.” He turns, barely, to watch Hux out of the corner of his eye. The damned mask makes it no easier.

Hux doesn’t respond.

Kylo tries again.

“I thought you said I should keep my distance.”

“Keeping up appearances is not easy nor pleasurable.”

“I think you’re being immature now, General.”

“Oh? In what way? I’m simply–”

“How many times is it going to take for you to accept the fact that we…” Kylo casts a furtive glance around at the workstations, seeing no faces turned toward them. He takes a chance. “…we desire each other?”

He’s hit with a waterfall of hot, sweet waves of a needy something pouring from every inch of Hux’s being. Hux looks panicked.

“I have…no _desire_ to be with–with a man. You, of all men. I simply got carried away, and I am at fault for not controlling myself.”

“Is that what’s keeping you from giving in to what you want? The fact that I’m a man?” Hux looks supremely uncomfortable.

“It is highly unprofessional,” he blurts out. “And by no means a sound idea. Think of if–”

“I would prefer not to think about ‘if.’ I would prefer to think about things such as the effect your recent demeanor has had on our working relationship.” Hux lets a small, indignant smile slip through his defenses.

“Wonderful guise, Ren. Truly. Attempting to be responsible? I know what your motive is here.” He turns to Kylo. “And can you not see past the present? What of the future? What would we be left to do if something went awry in whatever agreement–”

“I hardly think it would be any worse–”

“Will you stop interrupting?” Hux takes a breath to calm himself. “Remember what I said about your personal interests, Ren. We must focus on the task ahead of us. To initiate a…to initiate something at this current moment would be self-destructive.”

“Self-destructive?”

“Absolutely.”

“In what way?” Hux laughs wryly.

“Oh, I forgot. You could look self-destruction right in the face and think it was life counseling, couldn’t you?” Kylo feels anger rising in him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snaps. And Hux doesn’t.

Suddenly the scars on Kylo’s left arm begin to scald as if on fire, threatening to reveal themselves. Thankfully they remain hidden by thick layers of cloth, but he can feel every single one artfully etched into his flesh.

(He’s through with what he used to do, but Hux’s idle remark still scratches at that one piece of him, the piece that has nowhere to go but inward.)

“And,” Kylo continues. “I suggest you stop arguing with me if you want to ‘focus on the task ahead.’” Hux pinches the bridge of his nose.

“You instigated this, Ren. You roped me into this mess.”

“I don’t believe that to be entirely true.” Hux drops his hand in exasperation, closing his eyes.

“Listen to yourself, you’re talking in circles. Even if we–” he stops short, on the edge of a word.

“Even if we what?” Kylo inquires. Hux’s eyes return to the window.

“We shouldn’t be discussing this here.”

“Then let’s go elsewhere.”

“We shouldn’t be discussing this, period.”

“Yet, here we are.” The silence is tangible. Kylo can practically _hear_ Hux thinking, trying to be rational. When he speaks up, his decision is clear.

“No, Ren. That’s my final answer.”

“Sir?” The two turn to see Captain Phasma standing behind them. “The droid has been located at the castle of Maz Kanata on Takodana.” Hux glances briefly at Kylo, expression unreadable.

“Thank you, Captain. Send troops to Takodana immediately.” Phasma gives a brisk nod and marches down the walkway.

“I should accompany the troops,” Kylo remarks, still standing in place. Hux, once again, gives no indication that Kylo has even spoken. Kylo continues. “Perhaps to oversee your soldiers. I need that droid.” He expects Hux to be irritated, but he just looks defeated.

“Your father will be there.” Kylo is at the same time amused and fraught with sudden, unprecedented affection at the sentence’s flat delivery–it’s as if Hux is trying to pretend that mentioning that fact doesn’t mean anything.

It does, of course.

“I know,” Kylo replies. And there isn’t anything left to say, so he just gives Hux a look he wishes the other man could see. Or maybe he doesn’t.

Because, he realizes, under the confidentiality of his mask, he can look at Hux in all the ways Hux would never allow him to.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this is shitty AND short. Sorry. I think I’m doing one or two more chapters. Thanks for sticking with me! <3

_“I dreamt of your defeat by a girl wielding Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber.”_

Uneasiness shoots through every part of Kylo’s being when the traitor produces the famed ‘saber.

The girl lies unmoving in the snow, but he can’t help letting his mind return to when Hux had spilled the contents of his dream.

 _The dream that called to me through the Force,_ he muses. It must have carried real power to do something of that sort, given Hux’s limited Force sensitivity.

He isn’t afraid of this battle. He contemplates if he should be, but is unable to come up with an answer. Instead, he focuses on FN-2187, easily disarming the traitor and serving him his defeat--even with the blaster wound dripping blood and burning like a lit match.

The lightsaber is wedged in the snow where it landed, and Kylo turns to it, reaching out a hand to call it to him through the Force.

But the Force is being difficult. Even when he focuses every point of his consciousness on bringing the ‘saber to his hand, it only sits in the snow and shakes--as if it’s on the verge of complying, but won’t do it quite yet. Then, without warning, it flies up into the air, _past Kylo’s face,_ and into the waiting grip of Rey, who’s standing fully awake behind him. She activates it and Kylo feels a fresh wave of rage overtake the old one.

“That lightsaber...it belongs to me!” He roars her, the sound almost being drowned out by the large explosion in the direction of the base. The crackle of trees is suddenly all around them, but Kylo focuses, rapping on his wound a few times to remind him that the pain is still there. Then he goes in for Rey.

Kylo’s had more training, but the girl is clearly skilled--she counters his attacks with surprising ease. She could be a great asset, Kylo realizes, if only she weren’t so cemented in her loyalties.

The land behind them is swiftly cut through, a jagged crack in the planet’s surface opening up the ground. Kylo drives the girl back against the edge, and the look in her eyes is not of fear, but determination.

“ _You need a teacher!_ ” he shouts over the wind whipping objects around and the electric scratch-hiss of their lightsabers meeting. “ _I can show you the ways of the Force!_ ”

“The Force...” her murmur is almost inaudible, and her eyes slide shut when it escapes her mouth. Her grip on the ‘saber does not waver, but she appears to delve into some depth of her mind, discover something that had previously been just hidden from her view.

 _Power,_ Kylo thinks with rising dread, and her eyes snap open.

She shoves him back, whirling around so her back is facing inland, and there’s a new way she holds herself, a fire in her stance that seems to almost taunt Kylo.

He goes for her again, but she slashes his left thigh, causing him to stagger back in the snow. Fierce pain stings through his blood and he uses it to continue standing, trying again in vain to attack this _Rey_. She deals Kylo damage again, branding him with a blistering circle on his shoulder, and he feels his efforts to get to her grow uncalculated and desperate.

He is near defeat.

 _The dream was a vision,_ he thinks, at the same time grim and satisfied. _Hux received a vision meant for me._

A kick to the chest and Kylo is on his back, but he manages to right himself, tightening his grip on his own ‘saber. He goes for Luke Skywalker’s, grabbing onto the hilt of it, hand closing painfully around Rey’s. She pushes back on his other hand, trying to shift their weight; and it’s working, Kylo’s forced to press his ‘saber into the ground, screaming as a hiss like dry ice rises from the spot where snow and lightsaber meet.

With a sickening _crack!_ , his lightsaber is destroyed.

Rey wastes not a moment, and a searing line is drawn across Kylo’s face, throwing him on his back, where he lays in wait of the next event. Something, something has to happen. _Anything. I’ll do anything._

The ground splits open again and Kylo feels a million _thank you_ s fly from his mind, unsure of who or what he’s sending them to but all too relieved to care.

He watches Rey’s frustrated (disappointed?) face receding in the distance as she faces him, the widening gash in the land taking her farther and farther away. When she’s a small figure in the distance he thinks he sees her turn and run into the woods.

Kylo knows it’s useless to fight for consciousness. He smiles to himself, a smile usually reserved for victory, and allows the sweet darkness to take his body under.


	5. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this bit. I could write this bit over and over and over...  
> but y'all wouldn't like that too much, would you? ;)

_ Hux stumbles over the white ground, heart jackhammering in his chest, fear a cold drill splitting his body apart. Supreme Leader Snoke’s order echoes in his head, but at this moment it seems his frantic searching is for his purposes alone. _

_ “Ren!” he shouts into the howling of wind whipping around tree trunks and ground crumbling into newly formed gorges. “ _ Ren! _ ” _

_ He has a very limited amount of time to find the Knight; the planet is imploding already and most troops are beginning evacuation. Panic seizes him and he doubles over, clutching his heart. He feels faint. _

_ He feels something else. _

_ Something like a magnet, not a sharp pull but a powerful one. It leads him over a line of fallen trees, charred stumps cleanly sliced through as if a blade sharper than any Hux had ever seen had come in contact with them. He is getting closer. _

_ Suddenly his mind reaches out on its own accord, his apparent destination just beyond the rock face in front of him. He scrabbles desperately over it and is nearly knocked backward by the strength of the pain that meets him. _

_ Ren is lying in a blackened, bloody heap in the snow. His eyes are closed. _

_ “No. No!” Hux staggers down the rocks, falling and bloodying his knee. He makes his way, hunched over and wheezing, to the fallen man, who still does not awaken. Once again, dark and light cloud his vision in tandem as he feels himself almost losing consciousness--but he fights it, flinging a hand out to lay it against Ren’s chest, where a heartbeat barely flutters. _

_ Unanticipated tears blur the sight before him, and he impatiently scrubs at his eyes before grabbing both of Ren’s shoulders. _

_ “Ren!” Hux shouts into the man’s face. “Ren!” he shakes the Knight violently, willing him awake. “Wake up, dammit!” Ren’s eyelids quiver. “Wake up, Kylo Ren!” _

_ Ren slowly opens his eyes, as if his body is made of lead. _

_ “You son of a bitch,” Hux says. “You can’t die now! Get up!” He supports Ren from the side, grunting with the full weight of the man, but Ren seems to be trying to bear some of it on his own two feet. _

_ Hux drags him back the way he came, avoiding new pits and crevasses in the planet’s surface. The escape pod (and pilot) are still waiting faithfully for him in the clearing, and he shouts an order for takeoff as soon as he enters the small spacecraft. _

_ He puts Ren on the row of seats across from him, unsure of what to do. _

_ He kneels next to Ren’s face. _

_ There are words of quiet reassurance on his tongue, but he won’t let them out. Instead, he looks at Ren, though it pains him, and whispers these words inside of his head. _

_ Somehow, the space around Ren seems to glow warmly, and Hux feels a strange sense of familiarity. _


	6. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter, y'all. It's been fun.  
> Thanks for all your wonderful support, kudos and comments! I never thought I'd ever get 6,000 hits on anything, so that's been awesome.  
> Look out for more Kylux shizzazz! :)

“Ren?” Kylo doesn’t have to open his eyes to recognize the voice. How many times has Hux said his name since they’ve known each other? He could listen to it forever, over and over and over until it became a song...

_ Pain. _

The long gash on his face stings like someone has poured hydraulic fluid in it, and his fingers and toes burn with such intensity he fears for a moment that they’ve been crushed or mutilated beyond repair. His back aches with a creaky kind of stiffness that he associates with long meditation sessions and his left side feels shredded, although the hot dampness of blood seems to be absent from his skin. Under him is metal; flat, unforgiving, and uncomfortable--he suspects that he’s been wherever he is for a long time.

“Ren?” Hux’s words waver, as if he’s fighting hard to keep them from breaking. “Are you awake?”

“Hux,” Kylo mumbles, and blindly reaches a hand in the direction the general’s voice is coming from. He gropes about in the air for a few long moments before a different hand, ungloved and soft, tentatively meets his. It clutches Kylo's hand in a platonic yet reassuring grasp, and Kylo feels the urge to open his eyes.

Hux’s sharp gaze is fixed on him. His brow is furrowed with concern (which he swiftly obliterates when he notices Kylo’s lifting eyelids) and he’s missing his hat, leaving windblown, mussed hair. Kylo studies his eyelashes for a minute, refraining from peering down at their joined hands in fear that Hux will notice him looking.

The light in the room is dim, but Kylo notices metal benches set into the walls (he figures he’s been laid across one, and he certainly doesn’t let his mind speculate who did the lying). Hux is sitting on the bench across from him, and the room is so small that Hux doesn’t even have to lean forward much to stretch his arm across the space and clasp Kylo’s hand. As if Hux can sense what Kylo’s thinking, he swallows uncomfortably and withdraws his grip.

“We’re on an escape ship. Supreme Leader Snoke has summoned us. We landed around and hour ago.”

“So we’re...”

“Yes, we’re _there_.”

Kylo sighs and scrunches up his face, promptly relaxing it again when he feels his wound split a little.

“What happened, I was--”

“I found you. It was on Leader Snoke’s orders. I helped you to the ship just before the Base imploded.”

A hazy memory rises to the surface and he recalls Hux’s arm around him, Hux’s labored breath and shaking hands.

“So the base is gone?”

“Yes.”

“And the  _ Finalizer _ ?”

“I wouldn’t know, Ren.”

_ Wake up, Kylo Ren! _ Another memory echoes through him. His name on Hux’s lips.  _ Kylo. _ Hux made it sound like a poem. Kylo kicks himself inwardly.

When had he become such a romantic?

He struggles to sit up, grunting, and Hux rushes to his side.

(Sick, dizzying fear is careening in heavy waves from Hux, and the man is trying to push it down but is desperately failing.)

A hand finds Kylo's back but quickly vanishes again, as if uncertain whether to comfort Kylo or leave him be. Kylo lifts his head to study Hux.

“It came true,” he says. Hux stiffens.

“Excuse me?”

“Your vision--your dream. Your dream became real.”

“I never--” Kylo cuts him off, quick and annoyed.

“Don’t play games with me, Hux. You remember most distinctly, don’t you?” Hux is angry, but Kylo can physically feel his resolve crumble. He’s clearly had enough.

“For the record, yes. I do remember. You’ve made it inexplicably difficult for me to function because of how you’ve been constantly nagging like a child,  _ making _ me remember. You seemed not to care in the slightest if you were about to meet your demise, but we both know that my dream or whatever the hell you called it was worrying from the beginning--don’t say you didn’t notice it as well, how it felt when you were in my quarters--and then the girl, and you didn’t pay  _ any _ mind--”

“Why didn’t you speak to me about this? It would have been so much easier--”

“Ren, you know perfectly well why I didn't, I was--I am--I’m always  _ this close _ to--to--”

“To what?” Hux’s indignation roils in the empty air. Kylo grabs feebly at his sleeve. “Hux?”

“You sith-damned son of a bitch,” Hux whispers, capturing Kylo in a dark stare. “I just have to give in to you sometime, don’t I?”

And then Kylo’s mouth is not alone.

But something has changed.

This is not an angry kiss. Despite its heated prelude, this kiss is a you’re-not-dead kiss, a let’s-not-fight kiss, a fuck-it-all-but-I-might-care-about-you kiss.

It’s terrifying.

But Hux’s lips are soft and slick, and they slide and turn against Kylo’s with an expert tenderness. Kylo likes the feeling immensely, and he takes it upon himself to wonder how many lovers Hux has had.

He shakes the thought away immediately.

The two are quiet enough this time that all of the little wet noises previously drowned out by heavy breathing and curses are crystal clear. Just as Hux is slipping a hand around the back of Kylo’s neck, Kylo breaks the kiss with a thought.

“Where’s the pilot?”

“I believe that Leader Snoke has sent her away already. We journeyed to his residence before you regained consciousness.”

“You left--?”

“You weren’t in any danger. It was only a minute.” Hux scoffs. “Child.”

“And who did this?” Kylo gestures to the large bandage covering half of his side and the smaller one on his shoulder. Hux clears his throat.

“I did.”

“You did?”

“Yes, Ren. I did.”

“I didn’t know you had medical knowledge,  _ General _ .” Hux’s jaw tightens visibly.

“Snoke is expecting us.”

“Indeed he is...” Kylo leans dangerously close to Hux again, sending puffs of air dancing across his chin. He kisses the little hollow under Hux’s lower lip, the one he’s been admiring for longer than he can remember.

“Ren--Ren!” Hux’s tone grows scolding. Kylo’s mouth makes a slow pilgrimage up Hux’s jaw.

“My name,” he breathes. “Is Kylo.” He bites lightly at the spot just behind Hux’s ear.

“Ah--Kylo--we--” Kylo bites harder. “Ah!” Hux pushes him back. “We mustn't--we’re  _ hours _ overdue, Ren--Kylo--we can’t--”

“Fine,” Kylo declares, still aching for contact with Hux’s freckled skin. “But promise me,” he begins, catching Hux's eye. “That you won’t push me away again. Promise.”

“I promise.” Hux’s words are simple; he’s anxious to get to Snoke. But Kylo is struck with their weighty meaning all the same--he doesn’t even have to tap into Hux’s mind to feel it.

He smiles.

He kisses Hux one more time.

And he goes.


End file.
